


The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

by cymyguy



Series: 12 Days of Kagehina Christmas [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: 12 Days of Christmas, Awkwardness, Black Friday, Christmas, Graduation, M/M, Service with a smile, Suits, retail worker Hinata
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-01
Updated: 2018-12-01
Packaged: 2019-09-05 04:07:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16803328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cymyguy/pseuds/cymyguy
Summary: I present to you...12 Days of Kagehina Christmas!A series of fics for my favorite pairing on my favorite holiday~Hinata is working the overnight shift on Black Friday, when some idiot decides to come in for a suit fitting





	The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

**Author's Note:**

> song: "It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" - Andy Williams

Hinata finishes with another wave of customers at his till, then sinks onto the counter on his elbows. He rolls out his shoulders and takes some deep breaths. Even though he’s had nice customers for the first three hours of his shift, it’s still stressful because “Black Friday” looms in his mind, giving him visions of a day where everything could go wrong. The fact that it hasn’t yet only makes him more apprehensive.

Someone else walks up to the counter, and Hinata hurriedly straightens up.

“Sorry I was just taking a breather, that time of year you know? Did you find every—thing—”

There’s a _hot_ _guy_ standing in front of him. Hinata takes a hurried step back, mouth open but useless. He’s a tall guy, intimidatingly so, and he’s dark-haired and blue-eyed and broad-shouldered—

“I’ve been over in the suit department for twenty minutes and nobody’s offered to help me.”

And _rude_.

“Can I get some customer service from you?”

“Yes of course, I’m sorry about that sir.”

He rushes over to the suits, refusing to check and see if the guy is following. He’s seen enough for the image to haunt him the rest of his gay life.

“What was your question?” Hinata says.

“You guys do fittings and everything, right?”

“Um, yeah, we do—”

“I need everything,” the guy says, “The suit, shirt, tie, shoes. Probably a belt too. I’ll need to be measured for sizes, and I don’t know how any of it’s supposed to look, so can I trust your judgement? Are you trained?”

Hinata looks at him as he fumes, his brain probably sizzling inside his skull. He’s never been so affronted in his life. The guy has a perfect jawline and perfect bangs and gorgeous eyes and he’s obviously a self-centered prick.

“Yes, sir—” he fights to keep his voice even— “I am trained, and I do this all the time. But since today _is_ the biggest shopping day of the year, I don’t know how much help I’ll be able to give you.”

“Are you saying you won’t help me?”

“I’ll do my very best to help you, of course,” Hinata says, “But I also need to watch my register because we’re very busy as a store and there’s no one else to cover for me. But I’m good at this,” he adds with more cheer. “You can count on me.”

The tall man crosses his arms, and Hinata is officially as antagonized as he could possibly be.

“So far,” says the customer, “I’m not impressed.”

“Then I better get to work!” He sticks out his hand. “I’m Hinata.”

“Kageyama.”

They shake. When Hinata turns his back he rolls his eyes and fakes vomiting, then grabs a tape measure and requests that he take off his zip-up. Of course the guy’s bless with _the_ suit body; Hinata doesn’t remember working with anyone who more closely resembles the models in the pictures on the wall. He tells Mr. Kageyama how to stand, then goes about measuring, rolling his eyes to distract from the hot squirming in his belly.

“If you don’t mind me asking—”

“I do,” Kageyama says.

Hinata fakes a laugh. “Okay.”

But he needs to say _something_ as he measures around his chest or he’ll probably swoon right into a table when he sees the number. So he asks his question anyway.

“Why go suit shopping on Black Friday, and so early in the morning? Is it an emergency?”

“No,” he scoffs, and Hinata wants to choke him with the tape around his neck.

“I was working on my school project and I remembered I need a suit.”

“Oh, I see.”

Kageyama is definitely horrible, but Hinata’s heart is so big this time of year that he still feels bad. What kind of poor soul has late nights of homework over holiday break?

There is someone waiting at his counter, so Hinata hurries the calculations.

“You’ll definitely want a slim fit. Is there a certain suit that caught your eye? A certain color?”

He shrugs, and blinks a few times. “No.”

“Okay, well, we can start with a basic black just to see about the size and the fit. Here, try this one on, and here’s the next size up and the next size down, I’ll be right back.”

Hinata knows he’s getting a glare but he flees from it, and goes back to the register to ring up the young couple. A lady comes after them and he has to help her find a roasting pan. Then he hurries back to suits, where Kageyama is standing in the same place.

“Which one was the best?”

“How am I supposed to know, I already told you I don’t know how it’s supposed to fit.”

“Well the sleeves are too short on that one,” Hinata chuckles. “Maybe you need a long.” He hunts along the racks. “Here you go, try that.”

“Isn’t the point of measurements so I don’t have to try a hundred things on?” the man snarls.

“Measurements are only a guideline at best,” Hinata says wisely. “You can’t measure for how each person’s unique build will fit into the fabric. Oo, that one’s good. Turn—Put your arms out—Yeah, that’s—that’s good.”

He’s helped hot men with suits before (usually for weddings), but this guy scowling at him with a hand on his hip must be Hinata’s type. He didn’t know he had a type, but that’s the only explanation for why he can still find him attractive when everything about his personality is a turn-off.

“Okay, so what color were you thinking?”

“I just told you that I don’t _know_.”

“Okay, I understand.” What is _with_ this guy?

“It doesn’t really matter,” Kageyama says. “What—What do you think would be best?”

“Well black is classic, you can’t go wrong with black. But maybe you want something that will stand out a little more? Or maybe you don’t, depending on the situation. Maybe a navy? Or how about this one?”

He holds up a dark grey jacket with a subtle blue plaid pattern, and gets a very heartless shrug. Hinata rolls his eyes.

“Do you wanna try it? Just to see how the full thing looks? Let’s see if we have your size…Yep, here you go.”

“What about the pants? You didn’t measure me for that.”

“Um, we don’t do the pants, just for—um, professionalism’s sake, just so there aren’t any incidents.”

It has never been more clear to Hinata that an incident of the kind would be highly likely if he were to squat between Kageyama’s legs.

“But if you know your jean size,” says Hinata, “I can get an idea from that.”

The customer visibly struggles. Hinata snorts.

“Does your mom still buy your jeans for you, Kageyama?”

“No.”

But he doesn’t say it with much conviction, and Hinata’s scorn for him turns up a few notches. There are more customers in line.

“Well how about you try these? The fitting room’s right over there, and I’ll be back to check up on you as soon as I can.”

“Just so you know—”

Hinata groans internally as he turns around.

“—I don’t feel like I’m being helped a whole lot.”

He takes a deep breath.

“I apologize, again, and if you would come in on any other day I could do much better.”

“I’m here _now_ , so why would I come back another day?”

“Are you from out of town?”

“No I’m not but that doesn’t mean it’s not an inconvenience, I have things to do!”

“I’m doing the absolute best I can do for you today, I’m sorry if—”

“Your best is not very good,” he says flatly. And Hinata has had it.

“Would you like to speak with my manager? I have to go back to the checkout now, because believe it or not there are other people entitled to my help. So that’s the only other thing I can do for you.”

“No.”

Hinata is nothing short of surprised at how fast the man’s face changes from angry red to a delicate pink that might be embarrassment, or something kinder.

“That’s—not—No. I’ll try these on.”

And he goes into the fitting room.

His mind reels as he returns to the till. He really thought he was going to get it for that, that Kageyama would rant to his manager about Hinata’s sass and he’d be taken to the office and talked to. Even though he knows it’s not his fault, that the man is resisting every attempt at helpfulness, Hinata takes pride in his work and doesn’t want to hear that he didn’t handle the situation as well as he could have.

Whoever the bride is this time, she’s making a huge mistake. Maybe she hasn’t seen this side of Kageyama. But Hinata knows from his retail experience that you should always assess your significant other in this kind of situation, because it shows a lot about people.

He doesn’t want to go back over there. In fact he’ll have to stay clear of that area for a whole week to overcome the stress that will break over him at the memory of it. But he has to do his best, and that means dealing with this, since the guy is still giving him a chance to.

He waits until Kageyama comes shuffling out of the fitting room, hunching his shoulders instead of letting them sit all firm and kingly like they were under his t-shirt. He drops his eyes immediately when he sees that Hinata is there.

“That fit is nice on you,” Hinata says, trying for a disarming compliment right away. “How do you like the color?”

He shrugs. “I guess it’s fine.”

Hinata gives a small crooked smile. “So you don’t like it.”

His eyes come up and he scowls. “It’s fine, I said.”

“Okay, well, if you’re fine with it we’ll keep going. I have your shirt measurements here, so what color shirt were you thinking to go with it?”

Kageyama walks past him to browse the tables of folded shirts. Hinata very casually admires him, he can’t help it, but he really wishes he wasn’t so shallow as to like the guy in spite of how poorly he’s treated him. He watches Kageyama pick up a shirt with red vertical stripes.

“This one?”

Hinata, though he tries not to make a face, can feel his brows tweak a little. Kageyama must have noticed because he dumps the shirt back onto the pile.

“You just pick it, I told you I don’t know how it’s supposed to look.”

“Well if you like that shirt—But do you really think, with the pattern already on the suit, wouldn’t that be a bit much?”

“So a solid color?”

“In my opinion,” he says lightly, “That would be better. But I’m not the one wearing it.”

Kageyama takes a dark green shirt and holds it up. His expression is so nervous, like someone who doesn’t like answering in front of the class and is afraid of getting it wrong, that Hinata is almost inclined to let him walk out of here with a completely uncoordinated outfit. But this guy is a once in a lifetime opportunity, he can’t waste it to be a little nice.

“Um—How about this one?” Hinata picks up a navy shirt. “It will bring out the blue of the suit, and then we can get you a brighter tie if you want, for a statement.”

Kageyama drops the green shirt and takes it from his hand, glad to be relieved of choice. Hinata is having a very hard time not grinning from ear to ear, with a real-life Ken doll standing in his suit department.

“I also think you need a little bit longer pants, so try these.”

“More trying?” he grumbles, but he takes them, and the shirt, and goes back to the dressing room.

Hinata can’t help thinking that if there’s no color scheme maybe he’s not dressing him for a wedding. But it could be that Kageyama is just so stupid that he doesn’t know about the color scheme.

The customer opens his dressing room door and pokes his head out.

“You tuck it in, right?”

“Yeah,” Hinata says.

Unfortunately, he’s definitely stupid enough to not know about a color scheme.

There is a lull in customers at the till, so Hinata works on tidying up the area until Kageyama comes back out. Again his stance is awkward, shielding and almost defensive, rather than presenting.

“Okay?” he says.

“Um—” Hinata nods. “Just—It would be easier to decide if you would tell me about the occasion, if it’s something you’re willing to talk about. If it’s personal or you would rather not that’s fine, of course.”

“Graduation.”

“How old are you?” Hinata almost shrieks.

He gives him a look. “Twenty-five.”

“Oh, great! I mean—I mean, same age as me, right on. So is it you who’s graduating?”

“Why would I wear a full suit to someone else’s graduation?”

“Well if you wanted to be respectful you would. You’re graduating from school?”

“What _else_ do you graduate from?”

“Right, sorry. What kind of school? I mean, what did you study?”

“Optometry.” He glowers. “Which you don’t even know what that is.”

“I do! You—You do—braces and stuff?”

“That’s an orthodontist.”

“Damn—Uhh, pardon me, forget I said that. Um, you…”

“Eye doctor.”

“Yes, right, I knew that.”

“Can we finish this up?”

“Yes, of course, Kageyama-san.”

“You don’t have to call me that.”

“Hm?”

His eyes have dropped. “We’re the same age.”

“But you’re a doctor.”

“Not technically, until December.”

“Well you’re more of a doctor now than I’ll ever be.”

“Just about everyone’s more of a doctor than you’ll ever be.”

Hinata pouts his lip. “That was unnecessary.”

He goes to the rainbow display of ties covering the wall, stretches on his tiptoes to get the one he wants, and comes to hand it to him.

“Try this one. I’ll be right back.”

When he returns, Kageyama still has the tie in his hand.

“Oh, did you not like that one?”

He shrugs.

“Well you might like it better if you tied it.”

“I—don’t know how. To tie them.”

Hinata just looks at him.

“The one I have is pretied.”

“Oh my gosh,” he bursts, “ _Those_ tacky things? The knots are hideous! How do you plan on being a doctor if you can’t tie a tie? Give me that.”

He plucks it off Kageyama’s neck, as quickly and rudely as possible so that it’s as _unseductive_ as possible, and puts it around his own neck to tie it. He takes it off and hands it to Kageyama, who puts it on and tightens it. Hinata scrunches his nose.

“Hm. Honestly, it’s not wowing me.”

He gets another tie, ties it and has him try that one. Hinata shakes his head.

“There’s nothing wrong with it, dumbass, who cares about the tie anyway?”

“Okay, first of all, please don’t swear at me—”

“You literally just swore—”

“And apologized for it! Secondly, do you want to look like you’re graduating from medical school, or like you’re going to the junior high dance?”

Kageyama is perplexed, fingers worrying at the edge of the tie as he looks in the mirror. “It doesn’t look good?”

“Um—Well no, I didn’t mean to say—We still need to pull everything together, that’s all.”

Hinata drops into a crouch to retrieve a bright, beautiful blue tie from the bottom. He reads the color name on the tag: Ocean Haven. Perfect.

“This is the tie you need, but you’ll need a different suit with it.”

“Are you kidding me? I’m not getting a different—”

“It’s fine,” Hinata says, though he’d very much like to say something else. “We know your size now so I just have to find it.”

He bustles around the department, holding the tie up to all the different materials, until he finds a winner. This particular suit hasn’t sold well, it’s a little offbeat, a little too trendy for most. Hinata thinks it’s a great suit, though, and it goes well with the tie and will undoubtedly go well with Kageyama, in all his stupid perfection.

He hands him the new jacket, new pants, and a white shirt in his size.

“Here, here, and here. Try these with the tie.”

He starts to grumble.

“I said you could trust me,” Hinata says, and points him toward the fitting room. Kageyama stalks back toward it.

The moment he comes out, Hinata knows he’s created a monster. The white shirt is a much better choice for his darker complexion and hair. These pants fit just a little tighter to him, but it makes all the difference. The very light gray of the suit has a raised texture, unique, but Kageyama wears it so effortlessly that it’s like a classic. He’s wearing his black sneakers again, he’s kept them on the whole time and Hinata wants to think it’s motivated by something very endearing like shyness.

The tie is draped around his neck, and he approaches Hinata and leans over, presumably so he can tie it for him. Hinata almost falls right on his ass in his hurry to lean back; he’s been trying to avoid this very situation, and Kageyama’s newly adopted quiet submission is not helping anything at all. Hinata keeps as respectable a distance as his short arms will allow and ties the tie. In lieu of having a _moment_ , he says:

“How tall are you?”

“195.”

“Bastard,” he grumbles.

Kageyama snorts, and Hinata can’t help peeking up at him. He is careful, as he flips down the collar of the shirt, not to let his fingers touch the warm skin of the man’s neck. Then Hinata presents him to the nearest mirror. He doesn’t trust himself to say anything but

“Good.”

Even that comes out in a weird breathy way, and he hopes Kageyama isn’t listening.

“It does look better than my other tie,” Kageyama says.

Hinata claps his hand to his forehead. “You have _one_ tie? You know how many ties I have?”

Kageyama looks for another moment, then reaches and takes the tie off. He holds it out to Hinata.

“Teach me. Please.”

“That’ll cost you extra.”

He nods. Hinata laughs.

“I’m kidding.”

He pushes the tie back toward Kageyama, and picks up another. He stands beside him and walks through the steps one by one, having Kageyama copy him. He can’t help but mourn as he teaches him this skill; it’s fun to be good at something His Majesty is hopeless at. And, well, it’s cute, it’s _adorable_ , when Kageyama depends on him.

“Wow, you learn quickly, maybe you really are a doctor.”

“Shut up,” he mumbles, “It’s not like this is a vital skill.”

“Actually it kind of is.”

“Shut up.”

Hinata gets him a black belt, and another basic shirt and tie since it’s a buy one get one free special.

“And black shoes with that.”

“I have black shoes,” Kageyama says.

“Black _dress_ shoes?”

He scowls. “Yes.”

Hinata nods his approval. As Kageyama goes back to the dressing room he is taking one last look at him in the suit, and of course that last look lasts too long and he is caught. Kageyama raises a brow and cranes his neck to look at the back of the jacket.

“What? Are you selling me something with a stain on it?”

“Of course not,” he grumps. “It’s just that not many people can pull that suit off. You’d never be able to without my help, of course.”

Kageyama rolls his eyes, but he doesn’t argue, and that’s probably all the satisfaction Hinata’s going to get out of this.

Kageyama gets in line behind the customer Hinata is already ringing up. He can’t help but observe that the redhead smiles almost unceasingly with that customer, whereas he got a smile maybe once while he was being helped. He can’t pretend he doesn’t know why that would be.

When it’s his turn he sets down his things and sees Hinata secretly roll his eyes, as he has to reach into a bin and get hangers to replace the ones Kageyama left in the fitting room. He hangs up the garments and puts a dress bag over them.

“Do—Is there a survey I can take?”

Hinata looks up too quickly, eyes tight at the corners.

“Um, yes. Let me just print the receipt—”

He grabs the receipt and writes his name at the bottom.

“It’s online, so if you go to our website, you can put my name as your associate, and then your—”

Kageyama watches him swallow.

“Then put your comments.”

“I’ll tell them I’m happy with what I got,” Kageyama says.

Slowly, slyly, Hinata grins.

“Feel free to tell them how big of a pain in my butt you were,” he says.

“You were a pain in my butt too.”

“And tell them thanks to my help you’ll be a ten instead of a six or seven.”

“What?”

“And of course you should also mention that you’re an idiot for coming to get a suit on Black Friday. Seriously, I thought you had to be on drugs or something, but nope, you’re just dumb.”

He glares fiercely, but Hinata still smiles.

“And you can mention your not so positive comments also,” he says, more seriously. “There’s a section for that. I’m not opposed to constructive criticism.”

“I guess they’ll be getting an earful from me,” Kageyama says.

“I guess so.”

He is still holding the pen over the paper, and he realizes it at the same time he realizes Kageyama is very intent on his hand. Hinata almost gasps as he drops the pen. What was he thinking of doing, putting his number or something? He hurries to hand over the receipt.

“Congrats on graduating. And good luck with your career.”

Kageyama nods. “Thank you.”

“Oh, and Merry Christmas! I’m guessing I won’t see you again, before then. Have a good one.”

“Right. Thank you. You too.”

“Thanks,” he smiles.

When he’s officially left the building, Hinata calls for backup. He needs to take a break.

He clocks out at 7 am and bundles himself up for the short walk to his apartment. He’s barely off the sidewalk and into the parking lot when someone comes rushing at him; Hinata fumbles for the mace on his keychain, until the stranger stops being so threatening and walks casually the rest of the way to him. The light from the store windows reaches far enough that Hinata can tell who it is. Kageyama, the suit customer.

“D—Did you forget something?” Hinata says.

“No, um—it’s—well, to get your number, yeah.”

Hinata is glad for all his clothing as he feels his body flush from head to toe.

Kageyama hasn’t changed clothes, and it doesn’t appear as if he’s slept yet today. Hinata flushes impossibly hotter as he thinks of Kageyama staying up these last few hours, maybe getting up the courage.

Kageyama thrusts out his phone, almost hitting him in the face with it. Hinata hurries to remove his mittens, then takes the phone and puts in his number. He gives it back, then looks up, and watches as Kageyama says to the air beside him:

“I graduate the second Saturday of December, and there will be lots of parties, you know. I wasn’t planning on going but maybe—maybe you’d want to go to one? With—with me?”

Once he has his bearings, Hinata carefully arranges his face into a frown.

“But you just said you didn’t plan on it, so you don’t even want to go.”

“No, I do want to if it’s with you,” says Kageyama.

Hinata grins cheekily. Kageyama gets red in that angry way again.

“Hey—Do you have to be a little shit to someone who’s trying to ask you out?”

“Sorry, I’d like to go please, it sounds fun!”

Wow, _that_ didn’t sound desperate at all. Hinata blushes, but Kageyama doesn’t raise his brows or tease him, because he’s too busy blushing himself. He gives a short nod.

“But,” says Hinata, and he almost feels bad because of the apprehension so clear in the ocean haven of Kageyama’s eyes. But he saves himself by remembering this is the most difficult hot person he’s ever met.

“But I have one condition.”

Kageyama frowns possibly harder than he has all night. Or morning, whatever.

“You have to take off the suit before we meet up,” Hinata says. “Unless you want things to get really wild really fast.”

If Kageyama didn’t get it from what he said, he should from the way Hinata flushes helplessly. The man wears a thinking frown.

“Why?” he says finally. “Seeing people in suits makes you want to drink or something?”

Understanding dawns across his face, and it is beautiful, until he goes on to say:

“Oh, because it makes you think of work?”

Hinata claps his hands over his mouth but can’t stop the obnoxious burst of laughter.

“Wow, you’re such a stupid doctor! You’re amazing!”

And he runs away.

He sprints across the parking lot, not being careful of ice patches, blaming his idiocy on the fact that it’s seven in the morning and he’s just gotten off work. It’s freezing cold and he has a date that’s not for two weeks so he’ll have plenty of time to remember that he hates Kageyama and thinks he’s the worst customer he’s ever had, and that he’s a very attractive doctor that is obviously way out of his league.

But who knows, maybe this won’t go badly at all, because it _is_ the most wonderful time of the year.

**Author's Note:**

> Next fic coming December 4


End file.
